Checking in on Tyler Skaggs

Tyler Skaggs is 3-1 with a 4.53 ERA for the Los Angeles Angels. Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

There is nothing like checking to see how an old friend is doing after a change in address. You hope that person is happy, is healthy and has taken a liking to his new surroundings. For fans of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is wasn’t a happy day when word broke that Tyler Skaggs was traded to the Los Angeles Angels. However, for the young left-hander, how great is it to be 22-years old, unmarried and living in Los Angeles? Oh, one other question: how great is it to be off the Phoenix to Reno shuttle?

Skaggs, dealt by the D’backs in the offseason in exchange for Mark Trumbo, has found a permanent home in the Angels’ rotation. His record is a bit underwhelming at 3-1 with a 4.53 ERA. He pitched six innings last night giving up five runs on eight hits, earning a no-decision. However, if you look a little closer, you will see why giving up on him so quickly was a colossal mistake even it brought back Trumbo, now disabled with a stress fracture in his foot. In eight starts, he has thrown 51 2/3 innings and has gone at least six innings in all but one of them. In addition, his strikeout to walk ratio is almost 3-to-1 (33 K’s vs. 13 BB’s). In his start prior last night, Skaggs went eight innings in Toronto, giving up two runs on only four hits while walking nobody. This is a guy who has a bright future and, teaming with Garrett Richards, will make the Halos’ rotation formidable over the next decade.

I will never understand why Kevin Towers gave up a young lefty with such promise. The talk is that there was a flaw in his delivery. Isn’t that why Dave Duncan was brought in, to fix problems like this? The trading of Tyler Skaggs , no matter how many Trum-bombs are launched from Chase Field and short of a World Series appearance, may go down as the biggest black mark of KT’s tenure of D’backs’ general manager.

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